Jaq had selected her
outfit carefully for tonight's dinner with her parents, in which she
would introduce them to her fiance, Chase Young. She wore an elegant
cheongsam because Chase liked the look of them on her, and in his
colors as well; black, with threads of gold and green. Her hair was
styled in an elegant twist, her make-up impeccable.

For all of that, she
jittered nervously as she and Chase walked up the steps to the front
door.

Chase glanced at his
nervous little bride-to-be and settled his hand on her back, rubbing
slightly.

"Little ghost
girl, you are far too nervous," he chided gently. "I have
no intention of slaughtering your parents tonight. They wish to meet
me and you have asked it of me. I am in the mood to indulge you.
Trust that I have the ability to handle suspicious and worried
parents."

A tiny smile broke
through Jaq's mask of anxiety and she laid her head on Chase's
shoulder with a soft sigh and a grateful hum.

"I love you, Chase,"
she murmured, obviously from the bottom of her heart. "I'm so
glad you're in the mood to indulge."

The albino witch paused
just before the front door and leaned up to kiss her betrothed
gratefully.

The door opened on the
kissing couple and a soft, but audible gasp was heard.

Jaq meeped and blushed
as she broke the kiss to see her parents standing there. Her mother
was also blushing, but her father was staring in stark disapproval.

"If you two kids
are done canoodling on the doorstep," Mr. Spicer said gruffly,
"perhaps you'd like to come in to dinner?"

Jaq blushed, huddling
against Chase. The dragon lord put his arm around his lover and
escorted her into her parents' house.

Martin and Sylvia
glanced at each other, and then back to the man who was clearly
holding their... offspring... in a protective manner. He was a
beautiful man; clearly a young adult, just out of his teens if the
smooth creaminess of his skin was any indication.

Martin held out his
hand. "Welcome to our home, Mr. Young."

Chase treated the
couple to a dazzling smile and shook Mr. Spicer's hand.

"Thank you for having
me, Mr. and Mrs. Spicer," he purred, turning on the charm. "And
thank you for bringing the light of my life into the world."

The two men shook while
Jaq smiled up at her lover happily. Then, Sylvia stepped forward and
Chase bowed over her hand, earning a pleased titter from his love's
mother.

"Well, shall we
settle in the parlor for aperitifs?" Sylvia asked brightly. "It
will be another few moments before dinner is ready."

The four of them moved
through the house after Martin shut the door, and in the parlor, a
butler served them various alcoholic beverages. Chase and Jaq
settled on a couch together, while Sylvia and Martin took up chairs
across from them, which left Jaq with the vague feeling that she and
her lover were being interrogated.

Martin leveled a dark
look at the young man sitting across from him and took a stiff gulp
of bourbon.

Jaq glanced at Chase
nervously, but he easily caught hold of her hand and held it with his
own.

"I met... Jackie,
as you call her, when she still went by the name of Jack," he
said smoothly. "I am a Tai Chi master. Jack was intent on
learning how to be a warrior and sought my attention. It became
fairly obvious, however, that Jack was not... comfortable, for lack
of a better word, in his then-form. He went away from me and, the
next time I saw Jack, 'he' had become 'she'."

"You knew him when he
was still a boy?!" Martin blurted, shocked. "And you still
wanted him as a girl?!"

"Martin!" Sylvia
hissed. "It's *sweet* that he liked Jack enough to be romantic
with Jackie!"

Martin shuddered even
as Sylvia frowned and said, "Jackie, darling, don't be crude."

Chase allowed a smug
smile to tug at one corner of his mouth.

"Jaq is every inch a
woman now," he seconded. "For which I am truly grateful. Jack
as a male was intriguing enough to frustrate me. I have no interest
in men. But when Jaq appeared as a female, well . . . . all those
frustrations were gone." Chase looked over at his affianced,
affection obvious in his gaze. "My beautiful little ghost-girl."

The sweetness of the
nickname was diminished a bit as he reached over to stroke the
snow-white knee that peeped out of the slit that ran up the side of
her skirt – and made no effort to disguise what he was doing.

Martin actually
growled. When his wife gaped at him, he realized what he was doing
and stopped, but then demanded, "Would you kindly stop molesting
our... *daughter*... in front of us?!"

"Dad, it was just an
. . . affectionate touch," Jaq growled, scooting closer to Chase.

The dragon lord looped
his arm around her waist and pulled her snugly to his side.

Sylvia made an attempt
at a charming smile. "Jackie has no need to be nervous! We're
her parents; we love her. And... well... To be honest, Mr. Young,
this *is* a shock for us. For weeks, now, we'd feared the worst when
Jack vanished. Then, he comes home as a *woman* without letting us
know what he'd planned, and... in a relationship with another - with
a man! This is difficult. But we won't turn our backs on hi-her."

"Thank you,
Momma," Jaq said quietly, her cheeks flushed a delicate pink and
smiling in her pleasure.

"Thank you, Mrs.
Spicer," Chase echoed. The immortal dragon lord was honest in his
thanks. To see that pleased look of happiness on his beloved's
face was well worth spending the evening in this mundane manor with
these extremely mundane people.

Jaq forced down a
smile. Trust her mother to ask the "Do you have a job and
money?" question, while not being terribly subtle.

"Whatever I wish . .
. Sylvia," Chase said with a smug smile. "I have the good
fortune of possessing land, wealth and treasures that have been in
the Young family for . . . oh, fifteen hundred years or so."

He tossed a bemused
look at Jaq, hoping she appreciated the inside joke.

Martin went still for a
moment, then stomped over to the drinks cart and poured himself
another stiff one.

"Well, that's done
it," they could all hear him muttering. "He mentioned old
things. We'll be talking antiquities all night."

"Oh, hush,
Martin," Sylvia chided, her voice fondly exasperated. "I'll
be sure to let you two talk politics and money and other manly
things. But, yes...!" She turned her attention back to Chase.
"You have items that are *fifteen-hundred*-years-old?"

Jaq grinned and
snuggled against her lover while muttering under her breath, "She
can't have it; it's *my* toy."

Chase bit back a laugh.
He hugged Jaq briefly to his side in an affectionate squeeze.

"All yours, little
ghost," he assured her in the same stage whisper. "I'm afraid
my oldest pieces are not that impressive, Sylvia," Chase said in a
normal tone, turning his attention back to his beloved's mother.
"A few rusty swords, some ancient armor, one very special spear . .
."

Jaq said nothing, but
she smiled slightly. She knew what spear he was talking about, of
course: It was the one he'd had from the days when he'd been training
to be a Xiaolin Dragon. It had been his primary channeling medium
for his Fire magic, and he'd kept it; taken it with him when he'd
defected to the Heylin side. That spear had seen innumerable
clashes, quite a few of them against Master Monk Guan.

It was, besides her,
Chase's most treasured possession. If anything happened to it,
there'd be no living with him.

She hazed out for a
little while as Chase and her mother talked antiquities; her mother
trying desperately hard to get invited to Chase's home to see his
treasures for herself, and Chase adroitly turning aside each attempt.

Then, she noticed that
her father was staring at them - at her and Chase, cuddled together
on the couch, with a look of dark malevolence, and felt a chill of
sorrow and fear.

Chase noticed
instantly. His speech about his personal preference for the dyeing
techniques of the early Qing dynasty textiles faltered.

"Little ghost? Are
we boring you?" he asked gently.

Jaq didn't answer
right away, only glanced at her father. Chase's eyes followed hers
and for the barest second, Martin got a brief glimpse of something
hateful and powerful and somehow not quite human behind those golden
eyes.

The butler arriving to
announce that dinner was ready saved them all from awkward questions.

Chase rose smoothly to
his feet, guiding Jaq to hers. He made it a point to keep himself
between Jaq and her father as he escorted his lover into the dining
room. With impeccable grace and manners, he handed her into her
chair. When he noticed that Martin failed to do the same for his
wife, Chase performed the same service for the older woman, who
tittered her pleasure at him.

Then, smirking subtly
at Martin's dark glower, Chase settled himself in his chair.

"I propose a toast!"
Sylvia declared, lifting her wineglass. By now the elder Spicer
female was positively smitten with her daughter's beloved. "To
Jackie and her new love! May they have all the happiness in the
world!"

Jaq smiled at the
cheerful wish, though a part of her remained feeling cold and sad
when her father only grunted and drained his own glass.

"So... ah... we
were thinking of having the wedding in the next few months or so,"
Jaq said. "Naturally, you're invited. And we--"

That was as far as she
got. The butler had wheeled in a lovely cart that held the first
course dishes. It was some sort of fish dish; something with a
creamy sauce that had lots of dill in it.

Jaq wheeled out of her
chair, stumbled over to a potted plant, and barfed into the
container.

In an instant, large
calloused hands were stroking her hair back away from her face as she
heaved into the pot.

Sylvia fidgeted. "Mr.
Young... it's not that we don't care about Jackie, but... well.
Jackie's always been ill. Delicate constitution, you know. The
least little thing, and there'd be fever and vomiting... usually from
a panic attack. It's... the therapist said don't *coddle*...."

Chase considered this
for a moment.

"It may interest you
to know that in all the time we have been together, Jaq has never
been ill. Not even after drinking too much or . . . . women's
issues. She has always been hale and healthy. And she loves to be
coddled. Apparently it's something she didn't get during her
formative years."

The dragon lord looked
back to his urpy bride-to-be, brushed a phantom lock of hair away
from her face and kissed her temple.

Jaq sagged against him,
her eyes closed and struggled to get her breathing under control.

"Thank you, baby,"
she said quietly, more in love with Chase Young than ever.

This man - this evil,
malicious, cruel man - by all rights should have been saying the same
thing as her parents. 'Get up! Stop wimping out!' Instead, he was
*coddling* her; protecting her and spoiling her, and she loved him
for his generosity to her.

"Oh, stop!" Martin
snapped. "Or we'll all be puking in the plants!" The man
swayed in his seat; the alcohol he'd been downing clearly taking
effect.

"I don't know what
you're tryin' t' prove, Jack! Like, like, you're showing up
as a woman with some *man* all over you like you're a real girl now
. . . chopping your balls off and getting implants doesn't make you
a woman! It just makes you a neutered boy in a dress! Freak!"

Jaq flinched and
pressed her face against Chase's chest. "Oh, gods... I knew it!
I knew coming here was a mistake! Chase! Please! Take me home!"

"No!" Sylvia
cried, leaping to her feet. "Jackie, please, no! Your father's
drunk! He doesn't know what he's saying! Martin, SHUT UP! I'm
not losing him again because of you!"

"Don't you tell me
to shut up! This is your fault; you always wanted a girl!"

Chase watched the
warring couple through slitted eyes.

"Little ghost? Is
the 'no slaughtering' rule still in effect?"

Jaq said nothing.
Instead, she clung tightly to her beloved and cried.

A low, inhuman growl
ripped through the room, causing Mr. and Mrs. Spicer to fall abruptly
silent. It was a horrible, godawful sound, promising pain and death
to all who heard it. It took the married couple a few seconds to
realize it was coming from their future son-in-law.

Chase Young snarled
ferociously at the pair, clutching Jaq to his chest.

"You are both
extremely fortunate that I promised Jaq I would not kill you tonight.
Tomorrow you might not be so lucky."

With that, he was gone,
teleporting away with his lover wrapped tightly in his protective
embrace.

In the next instant
they were home, in a sitting room they both favored, with a roaring
fire in the fireplace and an oversized couch just waiting to be
snuggled on.

Jaq just couldn't seem
to stop crying. All she knew was that Chase was there, holding her
and snuggling her and crooning into her ear as he stroked her back,
kissed her hair, and made promises that everything was going to be
alright.

She believed him, she
honestly did, but still... the tears flowed.

It seemed as if every
hurt her parents had ever dealt her was finally finding release.

"Jaq . . . my Jaq,
please don't cry. I love you; it doesn't matter what those
wretched fools think. They don't know you as I do; they don't
love you as I do. No one can. You have my immortal heart, little
ghost. There is no reason to weep. Please smile, my beautiful
little ghost girl. I want you to -- *say one word and I'll return
you to flesh just so I may brutally murder you!*" Chase snarled.

Jaq, startled, lifted
her head and looked with wide eyes at her lover. Seeing the
direction of his gaze, however, she turned and saw Wuya hovering
nearby.

Rage took her, then. A
horrible, black rage that filled her soul with poison.

In an instant, Jaq was
up and off of Chase's lap, whirling to face Wuya.

"You *BITCH!*"
she howled at the ghost, and was utterly unaware of the fact that
black magic crackled from her naked hands, or that *every* part of
her eyes was glowing red. "You horrible, vicious, *petty*
bitch! You came here to *laugh* at me! *Again!* Just like you
*always* did! Even when I was the only one you could depend on, you
*laughed* at me! You never thought maybe I could have made you
*human* again, just with technology! And now you're here to laugh at
me *again?!* Ohhhhhh, I *HATE* YOU!"

With that, she lashed
venomous energy at Wuya.

The witch screamed and
writhed from the pain the hateful energy inflicted on her. Her
insubstantial body twisted and contorted with agony.

Chase ignored the dead
witch's screams and poured himself a snifter of brandy as he took
pleasure in watching his beautiful little ghost girl practically
*glow* with hatred and malice. How arousing . . .

Jaq screamed hate and
rage and pain at Wuya, who was unable to flee from the corporeal
witch's assault. It wasn't until Jaq staggered back, drained of
energy and panting tiredly, that Wuya was finally given surcease.

"H-How did you
make me feel pain?" the ghost witch cried, her voice jittering
with ghostly sobs. "I'm insubstantial! How did you make me feel
pain?!"

Jaq's arms hung limply
by her side and she stared with dark loathing at the ghost.

"I *wanted* you
to," Jaq muttered, and then she turned and went back to Chase.

Chase stood as she
approached him again and kissed his lover deeply, passionately.

"So *incredible*, my
love. So beautiful, so hateful, so powerful . . . . do you feel
better? Would something make you feel better? Just name it, love,
and it is yours."

Jaq shivered and
clutched at him.

"I want you," she
whispered. "I want to feel like I'm worth something. I want to
be special and pampered and *loved*."

"You *are* loved,
little ghost," Chase assured her. "You are completely beloved by
me and I shall spend the rest of time making sure you feel special
and pampered. I –" Chase broke off sharply.

Jaq sniffled and looked
up at him questioningly.

A smug smirk tugged at
the warlord's lips.

"Do you feel up to
going out, Jaq? I know just the place to make you feel special and
pampered."

"'Out'?" Jaq
echoed.

There places in the
world normal people could never go.

The doorways were
hidden in switchbacks and back alleys, accessible only with the
proper knowledge and power. With very few exceptions, the places on
the other side of those doorways had very little to do with alleys
and forgotten side streets.

Chase and Jaq were in
such an alley now.

Makeup touched up,
teeth brushed and hair repaired, Jaq hung off of Chase's arm while
he spoke to someone on the other side of a heavy door. Jaq got the
niggling feeling the speaker had more eyes than just the two that
were showing.

"Have you brought me
to a speakeasy, Chase?" Jaq murmured as the door was opened.

Chase snorted with
amusement.

"You are closer to
the truth than you know, little ghost," the dragon lord purred.
"Those with power and magic are always interested in keeping our
entertainments to ourselves."

The heavy door pulled
back and the dragon lord and his witch stepped through the dingy
passageway and emerged into supernatural luxury.

Jaq was reminded of the
paintings of Heaven from her mother's collection of antiquities.
The overall theme was Chinese, which made sense since they'd
started off in Beijing. Carved pillars soared ten stories in the
air over a fantastic courtyard where musicians played in the lower
levels and acrobats sported on a trapeze strung between the upper
levels. There were also prettily-painted young men and women who
appeared to be flying up and down.

Given the magical
entrance, that wasn't outside of the realm of possibility.

Chase started forward
as if he didn't see any of it, tugging Jaq along with him. The
albino witch looked over her shoulder at the doorman. A red-skinned
Chinese demon with three eyes blinked back at her.

'Nailed it,' Jaq
thought to herself.

"Ah! Lord Young!
Oh, we haven't seen you in four hundred and thirty-six years! What
a pleasant surprise!" A voice cried.

Jaq whipped her head
back around to face front only to find herself face-to-face with a
pretty young woman in an off-the shoulder gown and a red lacquered
Chinese hat. The woman's hair was styled in gravity-defying loops
and swirls and a red jewel rested over her ajna chakra.

"I had no pressing
need to return," Chases stated coolly. "Now I require a table for
two someplace quiet . . . romantic."

Jaq blinked up at the
soaring pillars and balconies. This place was a restaurant?

"Oh?" The
jewel-foreheaded woman asked. Her eyes flew to Jaq. Then she
blasted them both with a brilliant smile.

"Of course!" She
cried in a voice that was just smidge *too* loud. "When the
infamous Chase Young wants a romantic table, you can be sure the
Gates of Heaven Café can deliver!"

Jaq nearly goggled like
an idiot. She called this place a café? What the hell would a full
blown steakhouse look like?

Then turning heads
caught the albino witch's eye. The immediate room didn't look
like dining; it was more of a wine-and-nibbly-things area. Beings
lounged about, chatting, laughing, and drinking from cups that ranged
in size from thimbles to cauldrons.

More than a few of them
were turning towards Chase and Jaq. They glanced at the dragon lord
briefly, as if to make sure it really *was* Chase Young, then their
eyes roamed over Jaq.

As they began to follow
the waitress deeper into the restaurant, the
evil-boy-genius-turned-evil-witch got the feeling she was being sized
up in every way imaginable.

"Chase," she began
uneasily.

"Yes, darling?" The
dragon lord said.

Jaq nearly tripped over
her own feet.

'Darling?' When
the hell had Chase called her 'darling'? When he got verbally
affectionate with her, it was 'little ghost' and 'pretty little
ghost girl' and 'beloved', not 'darling'. It was almost
weirder than hearing Chase say: 'honeybunch'.

Jaq stared hard at her
affianced. After a moment, a grin tugged at her lips.

"Chase . . .
'sweetiepie' . . . you wouldn't happen to be putting on a show
for these nice peop -- *beings*, would you?"

Chase's smirk
deepened.

"Little ghost, I have
garnered something of a reputation for being a shut-in."

"No way; *you*?!"
Jaq teased with a mock gasp.

Chase gave her a sour
look and slapped her on the rump. Jaq squeaked, drawing more looks
as they climbed a beautifully carved set of stairs after the
waitress.

"Saucy," Chase
growled, but there was no heat in his tone. "As I was saying, the
last time I came to this particular place, it was to be *seen*. I
dragged along some little fire imp who's name I couldn't remember
then *or* now, flirted shamelessly with the waitress and, if memory
serves, ended up fucking one of the acrobats in the washroom."

Jaq snorted with
laughter and buried her face against Chase's shoulder.

"When you hit a café,
you hit a café," she chuckled wickedly.

"Be that as it may, I
wish to make it very clear that things have changed from the last
time. Then, I was a bored bachelor seeking a moment's
entertainment. Now . . ." Chase paused and placed a chaste kiss on
Jaq's cheek. "Now my little ghost deserves to be shown off."

"Oh Chase . . ."
Jaq breathed, getting misty-eyed.

The waitress cleared
her throat. The young woman waited for the pair in an elaborated
decorated elevator. Her brilliant perkiness seemed to have faded
quite a bit. Jaq wondered if she were the same waitress Chase had
flirted so shamelessly with four centuries before.

The pair entered the
elevator and scandalized the waitress further by necking in a corner
as the box rose to the top floors.

By the time the doors
chimed, Chase, Jaq, *and* the waitress were all rosy of cheek, though
for entirely different reasons.

"I hope this table is
suitable!" The waitress said with a forced grin, gesturing to a
small table inlaid with an elaborate scene of Chinese mythology.

The chairs were carved
to look like coiled dragons, a red padded seat held between their
limbs. Behind each chair was what Jaq at first took to be replicas
of the terracotta soldiers of Emperor Qin, but when one pulled out
her chair for her and the other took her wrap, she realized that the
terracotta soldiers of Emperor Qin were probably replicas of *these*.

Another pair behind
Chase's chair assisted the warlord in getting seated comfortably,
then went back to being simple stone statues.

"Tea to start,"
Chase growled to the waitress as she laid down menus. "Original Da
Hong Pao."

When the waitress
dipped a curtsey, Chase waved at her to go away.

"Da Hong Pao?" Jaq
echoed when the bejeweled woman had left. "Isn't that the rarest
tea in the world? They only harvest about 3.3 ounces a year from 350
year old trees?"

"It is the rarest tea
in the mortal world, little ghost. Gods and monsters have more
access to it," Chase said with a smug smirk.

Jaq took a deep breath
of fresh night air and observed her surroundings. The table they had
taken was on the second highest level; one more tier of tables ran
along the length of the building. Over their heads only a roof
shielded them from any bad weather that might be had. A small
fountain erupted from the wall below them to trickle into an
ornamental pond one floor below. A few tables were set up around it.

Jaq idly wondered why
the waitress hadn't set them *there*, but from this seat she could
look down into the courtyard at the acrobats and musicians or look
outside the building to the countryside beyond. Looking out across
the deep green forests, spotted here and there with lantern light,
Jaq smiled widely.

"It's beautiful,"
she breathed. "If I asked where this place was, would the answer
make any sense?"

"Not really," Chase
answered. The warlord rested his chin in his hands while he took a
moment to simply look at Jaq. "You are so very beautiful."

The albino witch
blushed demurely at her love's compliment.

At that moment, a
teapot and two cups appeared on the table. The terracotta statues
stepped forward again to steep the tea and pour.

"So what's good to
eat here?" Jaq asked.

"Everything. But I
would like to share an ogre-sized dish of Dragon and Phoenix with
you, little ghost. I'm feeling . . . . sentimental and I like the
idea of you being the Phoenix Empress to my Dragon Emperor," Chase
stated calmly.

Even as Jaq blushed
prettily again, her dragon lover picked up the menus and slapped them
against one statue's chest.

The magical statue
nodded and transferred the warlord's words to the waitress. Down
in the kitchen, the waitress paused as she put together the tray of
complimentary appetizers. Chase Young's *bride-to-be*?

Green eyes flaring
wide, the waitress calmly put in the dragon's order, then slipped
to the office of the restaurant and picked up the phone.

"Wu Fei? You still
have that photography gig for *Evil People*, right? I think I have a
hot tip for you . . ."

Jaq grinned helplessly
again, flattered to the bone that Chase had remembered her comment
from earlier.

Earlier . . . why *had*
she thrown up? Was it just from being back in her parent's house
again? She had been stressed to tears, but she didn't *feel* like
she was having a panic attack. It had just been 'chat, chat, chat,
sicky mcbarfpuke'.

"No, no, it's
nothing like that," Jaq said, waving her hands. "I was just
wondering what set me off to get sick is all."

"The company would do
the trick," Chase growled, sipping his tea.

Before the albino witch
could comment one way or the other, the waitress levitated up over
the edge of the balcony with a tray of sushi in one hand and the tray
of complimentary appetizers in the other.

"Here we are! And
may I say congratulations on your impending nuptials?" She
simpered, laying out the trays and snapping her fingers.

At the snap, golden
chopsticks inlaid with precious gems appeared beside their plates.

"You may," Chase
said with a small smile.

When the waitress
turned to go, the warlord's eyes lingered on her for a moment. Jaq
fought down the urge to stab the parting waitress with her
chopsticks.

"See something you
like?" she growled.

"I like her
hairstyle," the warlord admitted. "It would look infinitely
better on you, however, my jealous little ghost."

Jaq flushed while Chase
grinned in amusement.

"I wouldn't know
how she keeps it that way," Jaq admitted.

"With spells, of
course," the warlord stated simply.

"She uses magic to
*style her hair*?" the albino witch echoed, looking back the way
the waitress had gone.

"Really? I thought I
was just . . . not keeping up." Jaq wrapped a finger around a
skein of violent red hair that hung down over her shoulder. "Seems
like kind of a waste."

"You have power to
burn, hair spells don't take a great deal of power and I *like*
ridiculous length," Chase stated, tucking into a plate of sizzling
dumplings.

"Hmmm," Jaq paused
for a bite of sushi. Once the eyerolling and orgasmic groaning were
over, she fixed her ruby eyes back on her beloved. "How ridiculous
a length are we talking here?"

Chase had to swallow
*hard* and shift in his seat.

"I should like it to
drag the ground when loose," he admitted hoarsely.

Jaq's eyes went wide.

"Drag the *ground*?"

The witch shook her
ponytail back over her shoulder again. She thought it was pretty
long already, but if Chase wanted it longer . . .

"All right, baby. If
you say so, I'll look up the spell when we get . . . home . . ."
Jaq trailed off as Chase gestured for her to let him get his hands in
her hair.

The albino witch turned
her head sideways so that her betrothed could wrap his hand around
her ponytail.

Without warning, Chase
*yanked hard*.

Instead of her neck
being snapped violently, as Jaq was expecting to happen, the end of
her ponytail suddenly reeled out like a tape measure; growing longer
and longer with no apparent pull on her head at all.

Chase released the
hair, which spun out another foot or two before starting to drift
towards the ground as lightly as a feather.

Jaq jerked her head
back around to face her future hubby. Her hair lifted and flared out
behind her, still floating weightless, then settled gently around her
shoulders. The albino witch studied the endless fall of hair, then
gave her lover The Eyebrow.

"You just *happened*
to have a 'Ridiculous Length' spell *and* a 'Weightless Spell'
in your back pocket?" she asked.

Chase made a show of
nibbling some wontons.

"I may have looked
into the matter," he said coyly.

Jaq giggled and shook
her head, watching the crimson lengths stir and dance and float.

"I'm like that
chick from *Heavenly Sword*," she giggled.

"Chase Young!"

All the patrons in the
immediate area looked towards the shout. A warrior woman in a gi of
red, black, and yellow strode towards the table.

Feeling secure in
Chase's total disinterest in the other woman, Jaq turned her
attention back to her sushi.

"Don't ignore me!"
The woman snarled.

Jaq iwanted/i
to at least glance at the other woman, but Chase calmly kept eating
and looking at iher/i instead. Deciding it was more
important to support her future husband, Jaq continued to lock gazes
with Chase.

The woman standing by
their table curled her lip. Little flames began licking up from her
hair and clothing.

Chase skewered a
dumpling that had grown colder than he appreciated and held it over
one of the flames sparking from the woman's sleeve.

"Am I to assume by
that statement that we've met here before?" he asked in a bored
tone.

She slapped the
dumpling out of his hand. The chopsticks went with it, clattering to
the floor.

"Don't you
idare/i treat me so disrespectfully!" she said
coldly. "You brought me here on a date four hundred years ago!
The entire place heard the little slut you had your way with in the
bathroom while I was left alone, mortified, at our table!"

Chase squinted slightly
at her face.

"Oh yes . . . . mmmm,
I still can't remember your name. But if you were as tedious and
graceless then as you are now it's no wonder I sought relief with
an acrobat in the washroom. Be gone! You are bothering my fiancé!"

Bonds of red lightning
wrapped around the woman, making her shriek with agony before she was
lifted bodily and flung off of the building. Those watching followed
the woman's progress down to crash into the dark trees.

An acrobat suddenly
drifted down onto their little balcony. She looked down at the
scorched mess that had been Syrdalla, and then turned and smiled
flirtatiously at Chase.

"I'm the 'little
slut' that everyone heard screaming," she said. Giving him a
wink, she added, "I remember iyou/i
bivery/i/b well, Lord Young. In case
this date goes as badly as the last one did, I wouldn't mind having
you again."

Chase gave her a cold
glare.

"This date will *not*
go badly. I am taking my betrothed out for an evening's
entertainment," Chase said, gesturing to Jaq. "Not dragging some
floozy out in an attempt to be social. Go bother some other warlord,
'little slut'. This one is taken."

Jaq felt her heart warm
at Chase's words. She smiled at him, then gave the acrobat her
most charming smile.

"It's a pleasure to
meet you! Now if you don't quit sniffing after *my* dragon, I will
break you into even tinier pieces."

The acrobat sneered at
the white-skinned woman.

"Sweetie, you may
ilook/i demonic, but you have mortal stink alllllllll
over you," the woman said with clear condescension. "How
long do you really think you'll be able to keep a dragon like him?
He's rich, gorgeous, supremely powerful, and fucks like a dream.
There's a ilot/i of women out there who'd like to
have him for themselves."

Unbeknownst to the
albino witch, a crow spirit was perched on the other end of the
courtyard, taking picture after picture with a zoom lens.

Jaq eyed her suddenly
ridiculously long ponytail, then reached out with a manipulation
spell. The skein of red hair suddenly coiled like a snake and lashed
out at the acrobat's face.

The woman flinched back
from the attack, lost her balance on the balcony railing and toppled
down into the courtyard.

Jaq sighed and leveled
ruby-red eyes at her affianced.

"Am I going to be
doing this *all night*?"

Chase smiled. "Please
don't be offended, my love, but I'm rather flattered at watching you
fight for me."

"I'd be crazy not
to," Jaq growled.

At yet another female
form looming into view, the albino witch turned, ready to blast.

The waitress tried to
hide behind the enormous platter of food she carried.

"Your –your order,
madam?" She squeaked.

"Put it on the
table," Jaq growled, and then made a show of standing far to the
side so the waitress would actually iapproach/i said
table.

She was watching the
meal being put down when black-as-midnight-in-Dracula's-castle hands
suddenly took hold of her face and turned her toward their owner.

A
ibeautiful/i male creature with bat-style wings was
perched on the balcony, eyeing Jaq critically.

"Marvelous,"
it murmured. "So mortally delicate, yet the coloring is perfect
and that ibody/i.... oh, my, that imouth/i.
Yes. Yes, you will do, girl."

It looked up and met
narrow gold eyes and said, "Lord Young! I fancy your witch.
Will you sell her to me for 100 virgins and the wealth of the Lost
City of Atlantis?"

Before Chase could say
a word, another male creature appeared on the balcony.

"Oh, I don't
ithink/i so, Crozanos!" the green-skinned,
white-haired being said hotly. "You're not snapping ithis/i
tasty young thing up so fast! Young! iDouble/i the
virgins and your own idimension/i for the witch
girl!"

A low, menacing growl
shook the immediate area. Chase's hair was spiking, his fingers
clawed and the tell-tale ripple of scale under his skin hinted that
he was very close to transforming.

"Duke Crozanos, I
will ithank/i you to take your hands off of *my*
witch! I will thank the iboth/i of you to make
yourselves scarce! Jaq is to be my queen! I haven't brought her
as far as I have just to *sell* her like some cheap trinket! She is
not for sale! Not at ibany/b/i
price!" The dragon lord roared.

Crozanos tightened his
grip on Jaq. "You're being iselfish/i, Young."

"Don't chastise
him, Crozanos," the green-skinned guy said. "If I had a
witch like that, I'd be pissy about anyone else getting near her,
too."

He then looked at Chase
and said, "You're not iseriously/i going to bind
her to you?"

"I
am," Chase stated, arching an eyebrow. "I know when I have met
perfection. She will be my queen and give me strong heirs and I
*said* take your hands off of her, Crozanos!"

Crozanos glared. "If
she is as perfect as you say, then I--"

That was as far as he
got.

A raging, destructive
wash of black magic slammed into Crozanos' face. He fell from the
balcony -- Jaq jerking free of his grip -- and plummeted down to land
on the two women who had already been decimated by Jaq.

The green-skinned guy
leaned over to look, then turned and gave the infuriated warlord a
sheepish smile. He held his hands up in a "You win!"
gesture, and then vanished.

Jaq leaned over the
railing to take a look herself, then sighed.

"If this keeps up,
we'll never get to eat," she said petulantly.

Chase chuckled.

"Not to worry, pet;
now that we've proven our willingness to fight for each other—"
the warlord suddenly broke off, squinting at the far balcony.

Chase crooked his hands
into a clutching grip and a youth flew from the other balcony to
smack into the dragon's outstretched hand.

"What do *you* want?"
Chase growled.

"Nah-nahtink!" the
boy choked.

"Nothing?
Not a thing? You aren't a scout for some randy lord or a pawn for
some scorned woman?"

The boy twisted his
head to look at Jaq.

"No . . ." he
wheezed, pawing feebly at Chase's hand.

"I think I get
what you meant by being flattered," she murmured, and smiled
when Chase looked at her. "I'm so iturned on/i
watching you throttle these guys just to keep me!"

Chase grinned and
pulled the youth closer so that he could wrap both hands around the
boy's neck

"Shall I tear this
one's head off for you, lover?" he purred.

As
the dragon lord pulled the youth closer, he turned his captive
towards Jaq in the hopes that she could see the brutality closer.
Instead, the youth snatched up a camera that had been hanging around
his neck and snapped a few photos of the albino witch.

"Damn paparazzi!"
Chase roared, flinging the boy over the railing.

After a few stories of
plummeting, the crow spirit took his natural form and flew away,
camera still hanging from his neck.

Jaq blinked and shook
her head, hoping to clear the sparkles from the bright flash in her
eyes. "Chase? What's going on?"

"That
crow spirit was a member of the press. I fear you've made the
celebrity rags sheets, dearest," Chase sighed roughly. "And
people wonder why I'm a shut in."

Jaq blinked again...
and then smiled.

"You mean everyone
is going to see that little scene and know that iI'm/i
the lucky witch you've chosen?" she said, strolling closer to
him, her hips swaying. "Everyone will see that Chase Young
fought to keep ime?/i"

Chase's mood quickly
shifted from irritated to bemused.

"Indeed they will.
Just as everyone will see my beautiful witch fighting to keep me to
herself."

The warlord's hands
snaked around her waist, pulling her tightly against his chest.

"Beloved little
ghost," he purred. "What do you say we take our meal to go and
eat it in bed? We can get the sheets quite messy and then spell it
clean."

Jaq shivered and
relaxed against him; her body language was her declaration of trust
in him.

"I like that idea
a lot," she murmured, and began kissing his chin and jaw. "And
then, I can show you that iI'm/i 'bendy in really fun
places', too."

Chase growled with
muted pleasure and lingered long enough to gift his lover and mate
with a long, deep kiss.

A dove spirit hiding
under an ogre's table got splendid photos of the kiss.

Chase snapped his
fingers and the contents of the table disappeared. Several large
weights of gold appeared there instead.

Then, still kissing his
beloved, he snapped his fingers and the pair of them disappeared from
the Heaven's Gate Café.

Chase was already up
when Jaq sashayed down the stairs for breakfast. The beautiful
albino witch was clad only in a black satin robe that gaped open to
reveal her long white legs and bountiful cleavage. She came up
behind Chase, slid her hands over his shoulders and down his chest,
then slipped one hand under his throat and tilted his head back so
she could treat him to a long, slow, sleepy kiss.

"Good morning, baby,"
she purred in a tone so warm and inviting it was practically an
invitation back to bed.

Chase grinned smugly.
Then again, he had every right to be smug. Last night, he'd
successfully fought for his witch (and her honor), and then he'd
taken her to his bed and rung her bells but good. Now, the gorgeous
woman was slinking up to him; purring and kissing and sounding so
pleased with life that Chase wondered how he could get his name
submitted for godhood status.

"Good morning, my
beautiful ghost," he murmured to her, and watched her slink
around the table. The way she moved said she was feeling ivery/i
sated at the moment. "Do you still require... cheering up?"

Jaq prowled past him,
making sure to flip her extra-long locks. She'd actually had to
extend the hem of her robe into a train so that her hair wouldn't
drag on the ground.

"Chase, if I get
'cheered up' any more, I think my happiness will surpass the
ability of flesh and blood and I'll become a being of pure energy."

Jaq deposited herself
into the chair opposite Chase and stretched and yawned hugely. Once
this was done, she looked around at the assembled jungle cats.

"Diol!" she called
softly.

A black jaguar slunk
out of the shadows and curled up at her feet. The albino witch
lifted her bare feet from the cold marble floor and propped them up
on the cat's ribcage. Milk-white toes wiggled into black fur.

Diol tried hard not to
meet his master's eyes; the cat looked as if he was all too aware
of how embarrassing this should be and didn't care in the
slightest.

Chase snorted as he
looked up from his furry minion to meet his woman's gaze. He leered
at her - a sexy expression on him, to be sure - and poured her some
tea even as he teased, "Too bad. The sight of you in that robe
and the throaty little hums you're giving have me much in a mood to
perk you up again."

He enjoyed the laughter
she let loose with as he settled back in his own chair - stretching
his bare feet out to rest against hers on Diol's warm fur.

Jaq took her tea and
sipped it even as she played footsie with her fiancé on the back of
a jungle cat.

"I love you," she
murmured. "Even with my parents being jerks, even with the
paparazzi and the idiots trying to *buy* me, last night was
incredible."

Chase gave her a warm
and approving look. "It most certainly was."

He laughed when she
tapped his foot roughly with her own and said mock-chastisingly, "Is
sex all you ever think about?"

He pulled the gossip
column out of the newspaper and tossed it to her.

Jaq's brows rose at
the sight of the picture of herself and Chase kissing on the balcony.
She smiled as her eyes quickly skimmed the article.

"'Chase Young
appears to have broken his long seclusion only to pop up with a
fiancé! The young witch accompanying him to the Heaven's Gate Café
last night, known only as 'Jack'' – that's Jaq with a 'Q',
morons – 'was identified many times by the dragon lord as his
betrothed. The Evil Journal hopes more public appearances are made
so that we can deduce more about this mysterious young lady.'
Well, isn't my face red?" Jaq teased, laying the paper down.

Chase smiled and
stroked the arch of one delicate white foot with a big toe.

"No - it is still
that glorious, creamy white that has always fascinated me so
dangerously," he murmured. "However, despite their obvious
ploy to get more ratings... I find I ido/i wish to
squire you about and show you off. Shall we have many more dates, my
queen?"

Jaq beamed at the
offer.

"Yes!
I shall learn how to do something with all this *hair* you've
requested," she teased, tangling her fingers in the long mass.
"And dress to suit your reputation. I'll be everything my evil
king desires."

Bracing one foot
against the floor so that she wasn't standing on Diol, Jaq leaned
across the table to kiss her affianced.

"My wonderful, evil
king who shows me off and fights for me and lets me steal all his
shrimp."

Chase gave her an
amused little smile. "Yes, little ghost, it was. Although, I
confess I was torn. On one hand, it was very... ienticing/i...
to see you sucking down all that dragon. On the other hand, I was
jealous even of the ifood/i because the only dragon I
want you eating is ime/i."

Jaq laughed out loud.

"How about this: I
promise that *you're* the only dragon I'll eat without cream
sauce and baby carrots!"

Jaq
started to lift an English muffin with blackberry jelly to her lips.
Suddenly, the smell of the jam went from sweet to sickly sweet. The
albino witch's lips quivered. She dropped the bit of toast,
stumbled over Diol and fled from the room.

Chase stared in
surprise as he watched her go. Yanking his feet from Diol's fur, he
stood up and ran around the table, wondering what was wrong--

--and skidded to a halt
an instant before he would have stomped a fuzzy little kitten flat.

One
of his female jaguars came over and abashedly collected her cub, and
then retreated to a corner where her mate rested with the other
kittens. As Chase watched, the mother groomed the wandering cub with
her tongue, and then encouraged the fuzzy little thing to eat.

Chase stared at the
sight of the nursing kitten and somewhere in his mind, a dark light
clicked on.

Craning his head around
to face the direction his lover had fled, he whispered, "Little
ghost...?"

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